The Seahawks didn’t just win the Super Bowl - they dominated it, and they did it the way championship teams often do: with relentless, calculated defense. From the opening snap, Seattle made it clear they were going to dictate the terms, and the Patriots never found a way to push back.
Former NFL head coach Rex Ryan, never shy with his opinions, broke it all down on Monday, and his take was blunt: Seattle’s defensive pressure didn’t just rattle Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye - it unraveled New England’s entire game plan.
“Sometimes when you hit the quarterback, the entire team feels it,” Ryan said on ESPN’s Get Up. “And certainly that's what we felt yesterday.
At no point did you think Seattle wasn’t going to blow this team out. As soon as they scored, it was like an avalanche - and that's exactly what happened.”
That avalanche started with Seattle’s front seven, which came after Maye early and often, exposing a shaky offensive line that simply couldn’t hold up. And one player in particular found himself under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons: Patriots left tackle Will Campbell.
Ryan didn’t hold back in his assessment of the rookie lineman, pointing out that Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald clearly identified Campbell as a vulnerability and built his defensive scheme around exploiting it.
“To me, it was a thing of beauty as a coach, how you attack people,” Ryan said. “Macdonald did a phenomenal job.
And what I mean is - the left tackle can’t block. I’ve been saying it for a month now: short-arm T-Rex guy, no chance, easy.”
Those are strong words, but the numbers back them up. According to Ryan, Campbell gave up 12 pressures in the game - a staggering total for any lineman, let alone in the Super Bowl.
Those pressures led directly to four incompletions, two interceptions, and two sacks. In a game of inches, that’s a landslide.
Seattle didn’t just win one-on-one matchups - they schemed their way into Maye’s lap. Ryan pointed to how the Seahawks disguised and overloaded their blitzes to perfection, often bringing pressure away from Campbell’s side to create confusion and breakdowns in protection.
“When they blitzed, what they did was overload away from him and get home with the blitz,” Ryan said. “It was perfect design, great execution by the players, and great design.”
And that’s what makes this performance so impressive. It wasn’t just raw talent - it was smart, surgical football.
Macdonald and his staff put together a plan that attacked the Patriots’ weak spots and executed it with precision. It’s the kind of defensive mastery that wins titles - and in this case, it did.
Linebacker Uchenna Nwosu confirmed what we saw on the field: the Seahawks came in with one goal - make life miserable for Drake Maye.
“We knew he’s their whole team,” Nwosu said. “We knew if we affected him, their whole game plan would be nothing.”
Mission accomplished. Seattle forced three turnovers, including a strip-sack fumble and two interceptions. One of those picks went back for six, effectively slamming the door shut on any hopes of a Patriots comeback.
This win marks the Seahawks’ second Super Bowl title since 2013, and it came in a way that should make fans in the Pacific Northwest proud: a suffocating, smart, and aggressive defense that took over the biggest game of the year.
If this is the foundation Mike Macdonald is building in Seattle, the rest of the league better take notice. Because this wasn’t just a Super Bowl win - it was a statement.